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Hip hop mogul DR DRE is moving from producing music videos to producing feature films after signing a new deal with New Line Cinema.
Dr Dre, real name ANDRE YOUNG, has produced albums for EMINEM, SNOOP DOGG, MARY J BLIGE and 50 CENT, and now he’s developing a series of dark comedies.
He explains, "This is a natural switch for me, since I’ve directed a lot of music videos. And I eventually want to get into directing." New Line production president TOBY EMMERICH approached Dr Dre a year ago and tried to convince him to try his hand at moviemaking.
Emmerich explains, "His records have always been very narrative in nature, and you can tell from his songs that he understands how to tell a story.
"We’re excited to work with him as he branches out into the film world."

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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE reunited with US comedian ANDY SAMBERG at Madison Square Garden last night (07FEB07) to sing their controversial satirical song DICK IN A BOX.
The pair hit the headlines in December (06) when they performed the rude comedy tune on American satirical show SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. The spoof video they shot to accompany to saucy song became an instant hit on the Internet.
And during Timberlake’s New York concert last night, an announcer appeared onstage to introduce "a new band" that had "the most watched video on YouTube." Fans went wild as Samberg and Timberlake took to the stage dressed in campy 1980s costumes, and performed the risque tune.
After their performance, Timberlake returned to the stage in a casual T-shirt, holding a mug of tea and told the crowd, "I’m sorry if I offended some of you, but I could not resist." He added jokingly, "Watch out for the new album, late 2007!"

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THE WHO and KEANE have been confirmed as headliners for the first Knowsley Hall Music Festival in Liverpool, England.
The two groups will join local acts THE CORAL and PETE WYLIE & THE MIGHTY WAH! at the two-day festival in June (23-24JUN07), where promoters hope to lure 80,000 music fans.
The Knowsley Hall site, the ancestral home to the Earls of Derby since 1385, is set in 2,500 acres of landscaped parkland.
Knowsley Hall will mark The Who’s second major festival appearance of the summer (07) - the group will also headline the Glastonbury Festival.

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MARY J BLIGE and LUDACRIS will team up with funk legends EARTH WIND & FIRE to fill the final performance slot at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (11FEB07).
The three acts will join forces to present a tribute to funk and hip-hop at the star-studded show, which will also feature collaborations between SHAKIRA and WYCLEF JEAN, LIONEL RICHIE, CHRIS BROWN and SMOKEY ROBINSON and CARRIE UNDERWOOD and RASCAL FLATTS.
Also new to the Grammys line-up is JAMES BLUNT and rapper T.I., who will join the likes of JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, the DIXIE CHICKS, CHRISTINA AGUILERA and reunited THE POLICE among the night’s performers.

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A full THE DOORS reunion could be possible this year (07) if PEARL JAM star EDDIE VEDDER agrees to perform with the rock legends again.
Vedder joined the three existing members of the group for shows and studio sessions a decade ago and drummer JOHN DENSMORE reveals he’d consider ending his stand-off with his bandmates if the ALIVE singer agreed to front them for 40th anniversary shows.
Densmore has been fighting with former Doors bandmates ROBBY KRIEGER and RAY MANZAREK ever since they launched THE DOORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY with THE CULT singer IAN ASTBURY, and even though the trio appeared together at a recent book signing event in Los Angeles, the drummer refused to be part of a planned performance at fabled Los Angeles venue the Whisky A Go Go.
Densmore reveals he, Krieger and Manzarek are planning to host another book and poetry reading and signing event in England later this year (07), but he owes it to the memory of late bandmate JIM MORRISON to only perform with the perfect frontman.
Densmore says, "I play with Jim. If there’s someone of that level, OK. I’m not gonna join them with Ian. That’s not to diss Ian, he’s a good singer - but he’s no Jim Morrison. Eddie Vedder? My God, there’s a singer." Asked if he’d perform with his bandmates if Vedder was on board for shows, the drummer adds, "Probably." But he admits lawsuits and legal issues that escalated after he forced his bandmates to drop the name The Doors of The 21st Century and adopt RIDERS ON THE STORM instead will always get in the way of a full reunion.
He explains, "They’ve appealed my whim, but it’s still a quiet celebration in my mind. I mean, it’s gonna go on for another year - more lawyers… It’s hard to be chummy with that going on."

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JOHNNY DEPP has head-hunted VANITY FAIR film-maker MIRA NAIR to direct his new film.
SHANTARAM will star Depp in the lead role, and will be co-produced by Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and BRAD PITT’s production company Plan B, who bought the rights to the GREGORY DAVID ROBERTS-penned book for $2 million (£1 million).
Indian-born Nair, who directed MONSOON WEDDING in 2001, admits she is a big fan of the book and is looking forward to the challenge of working behind the camera with Depp.
She says, "I just got the offer a few days back but I will start with it soon. It is a book that completely gripped me as it did millions of others.
"Johnny Depp is such an extraordinary human being and an extraordinary actor.
He embodies so much what Shantaram is and so when he asked me to direct him it was obviously a great honour and challenge for me." Shantaram will be based on the life story of GREGORY DAVID ROBERTS, who escaped from an Australian prison and fled to Mumbai, India, where he became involved with the city’s powerful mafia dons.

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EVA MENDES has no problem playing a character who sells her soul in new movie GHOST RIDER, because she feels like she does business with the devil on a regular basis in Hollywood.
The HITCH beauty stars opposite NICOLAS CAGE in the forthcoming comic book adaptation, and felt an immediate affinity for her character ROXANNE SIMPSON due to her experiences in the cut-throat world of Tinsletown.
She says, "I love the idea of selling your soul to the devil. I kind of feel like I do it a little every day in this business - or every other day."

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Filmmaker SOFIA COPPOLA will stage her first opera in 2009, after reaching an agreement with France’s Montpellier Opera House..
The LOST IN TRANSLATION director’s first foray into the operatic world will see her mastermind Puccini romantic tragedy MANON LESCAUT during the venue’s 2009-2010 season.
Controversial tenor ROBERT ALGNA has been lined up to star in the show - he stormed off stage during a performance of VERDI’s AIDA in Milan, Italy and refused to return.

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Broadway play THE VERTICAL HOUR will close three weeks earlier than planned due to poor ticket sales, despite the combined star power of JULIANNE MOORE and BILL NIGHY.
The New York production, written by playwright DAVID HARE and staged at the Music Box Theatre, will now end on 11 March (07).
The Vertical Hour premiered in November (06) but received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom praised Nighy but were less complimentary about Moore.

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Hollywood lovebirds JIM CARREY and JENNY McCARTHY were reportedly so busy kissing at a South Beach, Florida restaurant on Tuesday (06FEB07), they failed to notice a car smash into their scooter.
The MASK actor and his glamorous squeeze where shocked when they left Prime 112 after dining on steak and truffles to find their scooter badly damaged and the offending vehicle nowhere in sight.
A source tells PageSix.com, "They started making out all over each other.
"They were so into each other that they didn’t see their scooter, which was parked out front, get hit by a car.
"It was damaged and dented. The car sped away."

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NATALIE PORTMAN is set to direct and star in a film adaptation of Israeli author AMOS OZ’s globally acclaimed autobiography.
A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS recounts Oz’s experiences growing up surrounded by the fighting in Jerusalem which later led to the foundation of an independent Israel.
A spokesperson for Jerusalem Capital Studios says, "JCS has met with Portman to discuss the possibility of her participating in and directing a film version of the book." The LEON actress, 25, is keen to play the role of Oz’s mother, who committed suicide when he was young.
Portman was born in Jerusalem and can speak Hebrew fluently.

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Scottish singer/songwriter PAOLO NUTINI has turned down a grant of £3,000 ($5,7000) of British taxpayers’ money, after coming under a barrage of criticism from fellow musicians.
The LAST REQUEST hitmaker applied for the grant to cover his travel costs to the South By Southwest festival in Texas next month (APR07) - but has come under fire from other groups who insist he is more than capable of financing himself.
Nutini’s management made the grant request last year (06), before his debut album THESE STREETS was released - it went on to sell more than 600,000 copies in the UK.
A Scottish Arts Council spokeswoman says: "While Paolo Nutini was eligible for support, we welcome his management’s decision to withdraw their funding request. "This means the money can now be invested in emerging Scottish bands. Paolo’s career is blossoming in the UK but the US market is notoriously difficult to break." The Scottish Arts Council will hand grants to 10 Scottish bands attending South By Southwest in Austin.

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Late rapper BIG PUN will be present at a tribute event to mark the seventh anniversary of his death tonight (08FEB07) - his wife will bring his ashes to Duvet nightclub in New York.
Big Pun - real name CHRISTOPHER RIOS - will be remembered by his wife LIZA RIOS, his two daughters and rapper son BABY PUN, as well as a host of performers including CUBAN LINK, TRIPLE SEIS, REMY MA, JOELL ORTIZ and CAPICU.
JERRY VARGAS, who is filming the event for a documentary, says of Liza’s decision to bring her late husband’s ashes, "It’s so people who weren’t able to attend his funeral can come and pay their respects." Big Pun died in 2000 of a fatal heart attack. He was 29.

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Veteran British stars THE WHO are set to rock Europe in May and June when they hit the road for 28 concerts.
Surviving bandmembers ROGER DALTREY and PETE TOWNSHEND insist the forthcoming shows will be their best on the continent for two decades.
Guitarist Townshend says, "If you want to catch The Who at their most effective for 20 years, come and join us." Daltrey adds, "It’s great to have been around this length of time and still be playing new material, having it so well received and people liking the music." Daltrey and Townshend reunited for their first studio album and US tour in two decades last year (06).

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Rapper N.O.R.E. has severed all ties with record label Def Jam, insisting it’s time to move after cancelling his contract.
The hip-hop star had a tumultuous relationship with Def Jam which saw the label refuse to release a completed studio album, and N.O.R.E. accusing label bosses of failing to support his subsequent Reggaeton LP NORE Y LA FAMILIA.
He tells AllHipHop.com, "I love Def Jam and every bit of history that we have together, but it’s time to move on. I’m fully on my own and I want to be my own boss." N.O.R.E. insists he won’t be releasing any diss records attacking Def Jam bosses SHAWN ‘JAY-Z’ CARTER and L.A. REID because "this is what I asked

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Reformed rockers SMASHING PUMPKINS have thrilled fans by confirming they will release their first album in seven years this summer (07) - on a Saturday.
The BILLY CORGAN-fronted band have decided to unveil ZEITGEIST on 7 July 2007, a Saturday, despite almost all albums being released on Tuesdays in the US.
Smashing Pumpkins, comprised of original frontman BILLY CORGAN and drummer JIMMY CHAMBERLAIN, recently announced they will return to performing live in June (07).
The band’s last album, MACHINA/THE MACHINES OF GOD, was released in 2000.

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R KELLY is recovering in a Miami, Florida hospital after suffering a ruptured appendix at the weekend (03-04FEB07).
The R&B superstar was forced to miss a court hearing in his child pornography case in Chicago, Illinois yesterday (07FEB07) as a result. A spokesperson for the Cook County State Attorney’s office says the hearing went ahead with Kelly.

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LATEST: Reformed rockers THE POLICE are expected to announce plans for a world tour on Monday (12FEB07) - the day after they perform at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Frontman STING has expressed his desire to commemorate the band’s 30th anniversary and play a string of lucrative gigs with drummer STEWART COPELAND and guitarist ANDY SUMMERS.
A press conference is scheduled for Monday at Los Angeles’ Whisky A Go Go hotspot.
The ROXANNE band split in 1984 but reformed briefly in 2003 to celebrate their inclusion into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

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